Memoirs of a Rocket Executive
by DesireeU
Summary: Sometimes, even herself doubted this way to live. But Team Rocket was all her life, and would always be. (Ariana/Executives-centric, Clonegeuseshipping, Silverspawnshipping)
1. Plans to Nowhere

**A/N:** mmmh so, I know the few people following me are mainly waiting for an update to "Sneaking Right Up To Your Heart", and it is in the works, I swear! I've been awfully busy between university and art commissions sadly, so time to write is always down to zero. Hopefully this summer I'll get some time to regularly update!  
However, I must admit during this time I started obsessing less with Team Magma/Aqua and more with Team Rocket, specifically the Executives and the Ariana/Giovanni/Silver/Mars family... Also my current OTP is Ariana/Archer, so I must satisfy this need, it's such an unpopular yet beautiful pairing!  
And so, this was born! I plan to make it around 30 chapters long, so it will be a long ride!  
It will also include Team Magma/Aqua and Team Galactic in some chapters, and hopefully have some variety like drama, comedy, romance, family fluff...I really hope you'll enjoy it!  
Sadly first chapter is very short due to having still uni exams, but I'll make it up, promise!

* * *

"So, Ari, what are you gonna do at the end of highschool?"

The redhead forced her gaze away from the school's yard, cherry trees in full bloom despite the unforgiving war tearing Johto apart since a couple years.  
She sighed as she looked annoyingly at her friend, her round face resting on her hand: "Archer, please, I've told you so many times how much that pet name irks me."  
"Don't you try ignoring my question," kept inquiring the boy: "you know graduation is soon. What do you plan doing after that, in times such as this? Will you go back to Sinnoh? Or will you join your older brother to Hoenn?"  
Ariana mused on the question for a while, before shrugging: "I don't know. What about you, you must be surely know what to do of yourself since you keep pushing for my plans."  
He touched her hand, holding it for a moment. "Don't be silly. You know I have as much plans as you do. And you also know I 'push' you so much because what you're gonna do, I'm going to myself."  
Chuckling, she interwined her fingers to his: "I see. This relationship must really be something serious then, isn't it?"  
A knowing smile.  
"You should know better"

Their lips met, not for the first time, and yet could make their hearts flutter each and every time.

"Look if it isn't the two lovebirds!"

...a flutter that a certain _purple-haired idiot_ could crush with a jagged hammer each and every time.

Archer rubbed his temples, looking away as to hide the slight red tinting his cheeks, as Ariana was turning red herself, but of rage -as usual; the girl was an overreactive ticking bomb ready to explode at any random second.  
"What's that for?" mocked Petrel smiling at the readhead's glare, seemingly naive.  
"Nothing, I just wish _some people_ knew better about others' right to privacy."  
"The school's library is a public place, milady."  
"Well, then...wait, what are you even doing here?! You're too old to still attend high school aren't you...?"

The older friend just avoided the question, turning his gaze from Ariana to a very-focused-on-his-paperwork Archer.  
"I _didn't mean to_ , but I think I've overheard you two talking about future plans? So what's up?"  
Archer mumbled a 'nothing', his pen never detaching from the paper.

"Well," Ariana chimed in, her chest inflating with pride as the anger vanished as quick as it went: "the only thing sure for now is that I will graduate with grades better than Archer's!"  
"As if," he only muttered back, eyes still focused but a light smirk on his lips.

Petrel looked at both, seemingly amused. "So you're telling me after your bloody fight to who gets better grades -as usual- you've got no clue on what to do? Well, I know you two are both pretty rich kids, but there's still a war out there, and you gotta be prepared."  
Ariana seemed to start to get irked again, as she hastily grabbed her pen to do her paperwork as well: "Goodness, Petrel, you sound like my father! What do you care about, it's not like you have much of a plan, do you?"

The purple-haired guy smirked, as he rummaged in his pockets.

"The key to survival in war, my friends, is to side with the strongest."  
The business card he was now holding was pitch black with a bright red 'R' on it.


	2. A Matter of Choiche

It wasn't like the thought of travelling to another region scared her; her family was partly originary from Sinnoh, where her mother had a pretty influent business company, and they decided to move to Johto when she was 5. Her older brother moved to Hoenn for studies since a few years, so she travelled to Hoenn quite often, and kept travelling frequently to Sinnoh too...when her parents actually remembered to bring her along.

But of all regions, _Kanto_?!

That screamed too much of treachery, especially since Rocket Corp. was the most influent company of the region, providing the most funds to finance Kanto's army as well.  
The war was at stall in the lands near Mt. Silver, both Kanto and Johto claiming ownership on them.  
But as Petrel had implied the day before, Kanto clearly had the upper hand.

Ariana sunk her head in her desk, a garbled noise of displease barely escaping from her lips.  
She lowered her arm, hand searching for her Pokemon to pet, until it met the thick petals of a Gloom hiding in the shadows of the desk.

"Why had Petrel to bring this out right one week before graduation exams?! Like I wasn't stressed out already…" the Gloom nodded in consent with its mistress, but let out a Sweet Scent before she could ramble any further. The redhead grabbed the Pokémon in her lap, gently caressing it.  
"I know you think I should calm down, and trust me, I would love to do so too, but…"  
Gloom released another wave of Sweet Scent, causing Ariana to hug her Pokémon even tighter.  
"Well," she finally said, after inhaling the scent for a while: " I suppose you're right. I shouldn't worry about it, I'll just tell Petrel it's an idiotic idea and keep focusing on my studies. Surely Archer will agree with me as well."

* * *

"What does it mean, you think it's a GOOD idea?!"

Archer tried to cover his ears from his girlfriend's screeches coming out of the PokéGear.  
"Ari, calm down! It's not like I haven't thought about it, and I think he does have a point…!"  
"He has NO point! That's treachery! That's stabbing in the back your country! You can't really consider joining the enemy's side!"  
" _Enough._ "

Ariana immediately stopped her screaming accusations. It was rare for Archer to let out his chilly and emotionless 'voice of command', but when he did for some reason all she -or anyone else- could do was staying silent in apprehension.

"...That's better." the boy let out a sigh, before trying to explain: "First, I don't think we have any other obligations than our well-being, and if this country can't provide it, then it's more than understandable searching for it somewhere else. Tell me, Ariana, if you don't think of yourself, who else will?"

Still silence on the other side.

"And then, I considered all opportunities. It's not like we have to be 'traitors'. Perhaps we can join the Rocket Corp. undercover, and slipping useful information to Johto. According to Petrel, rumors say that the corporation's boss disappeared, and her son took the lead as of recently, so he's probably not that experienced, and easier to be tricked."

Ariana was dumbfounded for a bit, such a possibility never crossing her mind. She found some of her voice back: "Well, they're just _rumors_ , though. And excuse me if the words ' _according to Petrel_ ' never ringed right to me."  
She also wasn't sure how they, teenagers merely becoming young adults, were going to try and exploit personal information of a millionaire corporation, for how 'inexperienced' its new leader may be, but decided not to voice such doubts. _It wasn't like they were actually going to do it…!_

Archer's voice brought her out of her inner worries: "Don't you worry. I will not dare such a bold move without making my research first. I was just saying Petrel's idea is not that unthinkable, that's all."  
"Well, I'm...I'm glad of that."  
He snickered a bit, and the redhead didn't need to see him to picture his smug smile: "I remember you it's not me the impulsive, reckless one between us."  
Ariana was going to snap something back, but he was quick to change topic: "Besides, I was thinking about university. My family is kind of pressuring me about the Law Faculty, and I'm starting to think it wouldn't be bad."  
"Hmpf, are you trying to say I should accomodate my family pressure about Economics and whatnot? I won't fulfill their wishes just because my brother didn't."

Archer bit his lip, perhaps he phrased that wrong; Ariana was quick to become snappy when it came to talk about or even alluding at her family...she has never been in good terms with them. Actually, they barely lived in the same house, with her parents often in business trips or just not caring, and her brother who-knows-where in Hoenn, not hearing from him since he blew up his university and broke up with his best friend. After that, her parents grew bitter about their son, and threw all their frustrations on how to have a 'perfect heir' at their daughter.

However, Ariana could be impulsive, but recognize her mistakes afterwards. "...I'm sorry, I know you didn't mean it. I'm just a bit on edge because graduation is behind the corner and I just have no idea on what to do. I am _happy_ for you."  
"It's ok Ari."  
"Actually, hasn't it been a while since we went out for a date? We should really take some time off and relax!"  
"Weren't you worried about graduation like, 10 seconds ago? I don't know about you, but I still have some studying to do…"  
"Hah, like that will serve you well, I'll still get better grades."  
"You wish."  
"Ahah, getting at our place in an hour, got it? And please, for the love of Arceus…"  
"Mmh?"  
"...don't say a word to Petrel, he always manages to 'accidentally' show up at our dates and spoil them."

* * *

Graduation came and went, and, as Archer predicted, he got the best scores out of all the school, with Ariana coming in second by a slight margin. As usual.  
As a result, his lovable redhead was very snappy and constantly bragging about how she still was better than him at P.E. and almost all club activities. _As usual._

The time to idly spend as post-graduation teens though, was less than short; a couple weeks later some of Kanto's army broke in New Bark Town's territory; the Gym Leader of Violet Town, the closest one to New Bark Town, quickly came in aid, but his Flying-type Pokémon couldn't do much against the enemy troops' leader, the now famous Lt. Surge and his Electric team. The waters just by New Bark Town, their beautiful waterfall cavern included, were claimed as Kanto's now, and they were threathening to get to the small town as well.

It was then that Ariana's family decided to flee to Sinnoh.

"So you're saying we're just going away like this, without a word?! Johto may need the help of a family as influent as ours! And what about me, what about the people I care for that I will leave behind? I can't just abandon them like this!"

The young redhead was brimming with fury, her cheeks hot red and her eyes glittering with rage. Her mother stepped in, handing her an empty suitcase.

"Don't be a child now! It's just too risky staying here, we can always come back once Kanto and Johto have settled things down! You're our only heiress now, and we can't let anything happen to you, or to our business!"

A small part of Ariana was ashamed to agree with that, it was the most logic thing to do. But she just couldn't bring herself to leave overnight, to leave her beloved ones in the darkness-to leave _Archer_ in the darkness.  
And then…

' _You're our only heiress'_

That was just what she was now. A tool to allow the succession of their business.  
She was sick, sick sick _sick_ of it.  
She wasn't a tool. She was alive; she was able to make her choiches.  
And if staying in Johto was too risky, then so be it.  
But she would have been chosing her next move herself.

Excusing herself to her room to gather her things, Ariana grabbed her PokéGear and dialed her boyfriend's number.

"Have you further talked to Petrel about Rocket Corp.?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Super quick update, but don't get too used to it xD

I think this story will be a bit longer than the 30 chapters I mentioned before, by this point I had planned the gang should have been into TR already but ooh, well...can't bring myself to write long chapters I guess.  
The ending of this was also a tiny bit rushed, but I hope it flows nicely anyways!

As usual, English is not my language, so any correction, feel free to tell me! Thank you for reading and for any review!


	3. Sudden Changes

The morning sunlight started slowly filtering through the curtains,flocks of Pidgey already up and happily chirping as to bring their homage to the newborn sun.  
Archer grudgingly opened his eyes -he had always been a light sleeper- and looked around in confusion at his surroundings, his gaze setting on Ariana still sound asleep next to him.

He was so momentarily puzzled that he didn't notice the shadow looming over him and the ominous voice coming from it, causing him a good jumpscare.  
"Glooooom!"  
"Ah, what, G-Gloomep? What the heck...why do you like to startle me so much?!" Archer was trying to keep his voice as low as possible, the redhead slightly shifting next to him.  
Gloomep, Ariana's beloved Gloom, didn't move an inch as she kept on staring on the two with a huge smile. "Glooom…!" Her cry had a wary tone to it, moving her gaze from Archer to her mistress.  
The boy sighed, pushing the plant Pokémon back. "I wasn't going to _touch_ her, you idiot…!"

The Pokémon let out one last cry before further widening her creepy smile to Archer and going back to wherever she was hiding. Gloomep was Ariana's first Pokémon, and very protective of her mistress. Even though she knew Archer since years, she still enjoyed to startle or tease him at any chanche; actually, it was due to Gloomep that the boy first noticed Ariana.

The two were neighbors as kids, both living in the "elite" district, but never really noticed each other. Gloomep -an Oddish back then-, being a nocturnal Pokémon liked roaming around at night, until it got the habit to visit often Archer's garden...who had his room's window facing directly the garden and had the habit of studying 'til late even as a kid.  
Oddep really liked staring at him in the night with her creepy smile, never moving, occasionally chanting, just to see the kid terrorized at night.

Since Archer's parents wouldn't believe him, he did some research himself and discovered the true to its name _Odd_ ish to belong to the neighboring kid. Their relationship didn't start well, initially as a mutual dislike, then rivals, then studying buddies, untile with the years they became best friends and finally lovers.  
Even through evolution Gloomep didn't stop her behaviour, which Ariana justified because of her Quirky nature, so it was no wonder Archer never really liked the plant Pokémon.

As Gloomep gave a final glance to her sleeping mistress before retiring to who-knows-where, finally realization hit Archer as he studied his surroundings again; Ariana had come to him telling him about her family wanting to leave Johto, and they decided to go sleep somewhere their families didn't know about to think it over.  
In this case, the place was Petrel's house.

He only had visited Petrel's house a few times, but never saw many of the rooms, like the guest room they were sleeping in.  
Actually, he realized how much Petrel knew about him in the couple years of friendship, and how little Archer himself knew about his odd friend. But he never was one to stick his nose in other's business; if Petrel didn't want to talk about private things, so be it, there must have been a reason.

Archer was so caught in such thoughts that he almost didn't notice Ariana slowly shifting to his side, grudgingly opening her eyes as if the sun and singing Pidgey physically hurt her. She sighed, seeking comfort by nuzzling her boyfriend's shoulder. Archer then noticed and smiled, embracing her without even looking; Ariana was always fond of physical affection.  
"Mmmh, say, we haven't slept together in a while, did we?" her voice was still sleepy.  
He slightly blushed, caressing her arm: "Indeed."  
"...what a pity we're at Petrel's when we have the opportunity to spend the night together…"  
The implications didn't fully hit Archer's head that she was already up, heading for the door while grabbing a jacket, her only coherent word apparentely being 'bathroom'.

* * *

Breakfast was quite slow and silent. Well, at exception of Petrel, of course.  
He was always smiling, so oddily constantly _happy_. And he did know why Ariana and Archer were there, of course.  
The redhead couldn't stand him in such moments. How _dare_ him be all smiling while she was troubling herself so much? Was he mocking her?!  
Archer put his hand on hers, as if to stop her rapping on the kitchen table, his eyes silently telling her she was overreacting, _again_.

Petrel put on a pink kitchen apron, humming all the while.  
"Okonomiyaki, anyone?"  
Ariana shook her head in half-disgust: "Ew, no, I can't really stand our local dishes right from the morning, I'd rather fancy some Kalos-styled breakfast."  
"Which means," translated Archer to a quite confused Petrel: "that she'd prefer some coffee, perhaps with a brioche if you happen to have some. Or that she won't eat anything."

The older guy let out a laugh: "Oh of course! I'm sorry miss, think you'll have to pass on the brioche, but the coffee will be ready right in a sec!"  
Archer whispered to his girlfriend getting redder: "He's not making fun of you, he just genuinely wants to have fun."  
"And about you, Archer?"  
"No need to trouble yourself making another okonomiyaki, I'll just prepare myself some rice and eggs"

When finally the three were eating together at the table, and their Pokémon were happily nomming around the kitchen as well, it was Petrel who as usual broke the silence.  
"So, the two _lovebirds_ have decided it's time to leave their nests to fly away together?"  
Ariana only spared him a glare from her cup, leaving the talk to Archer.  
"No, not quite. Ariana's family tried to force to leave all of a sudden to Sinnoh. And she doesn't want to leave...mmh, well, _the country_."  
"Oooh, I wonder. It must really be all about _the country_ if she's considering my idea about Rocket Corp. Y'know, in _Kanto_."  
The blue-haired boy straightened himself, trying to ignore the remark about what -or _who_ \- Ariana didn't want to leave.  
"Well, we actually came to the conclusion that if we join Rocket Corp. and successfully get some information useful to Johto, then yes, it'd be for our country."

Petrel's face took a darker expression for a moment.  
"I wouldn't meddle with such things. Rocket Corp. is very powerful, and you two are just teenagers without even an university degree."  
"If that's so," Ariana chimed in, her eyes not leaving her coffee cup: "how do you pretend we'd find a job there? As you said, we're just teens without fancy studies. Such a corporation is surely looking for more qualified workers."  
"Well, that depends what you're aiming for. Do you wanna be just an ordinary secretary, or directly helping the boss in important missions?"

Petrel's smile looked more sly than usual, and Ariana never liked it.  
But if she really had to take this choiche, she'd better take the fullest out of it.

"I strike for the glory."

* * *

After a lifetime together, Archer knew Ariana all too well.

The girl was impulsive, stubborn and prideful, and wouldn't hesitate to take decisions just in spite of others. She'd always been rebellious with her family, and even though she liked to act as a classy lady worthy of her name, she wouldn't think twice about frustrating her parents.

That's why he knew, sooner or later, she'd regret this.

He had tried convincing her to think it over, but she could be a stubborn as a mule; she'd said she would rank up in Rocket Corp.'s and destroy them from the inside, become a sort of popular heroine and shove it in her parents' faces, and there was no way to tell otherwise.  
And so, the only option he had was following her.

Taking the train from Goldenrod or the ship from Olivine to reach Kanto was too dangerous in times of war; and going by walk was not only long and difficult, but even more dangerous.  
So, they opted using their flying Pokémon as transportation. It was still risky, but less than the other options.

Ariana called out Murkrep, her beloved Murkrow, as Petrel and Archer released a Golbat each.  
"Do you think your Murkrow can really bear you? She kind of looks small..." asked Petrel skeptically, sizing the crow Pokémon.  
"...are you trying to say I'm _fat_?"  
"Not at all, milady, your curves are all in the right places."  
And it was then that the older guy got a double couple slap.

Even through flight the journey to Kanto was still quite long.  
Petrel instructed them to took a longer route to avoid crossing war hotspots such as Mt. Silver and Route 27, and their Pokémon weren't used to fly for such lengths, needing to recover often. Thankfully there still were some Pokémon Centers and small villages along the way, and even if the war was leaving destruction and famine everywhere they still managed to push through.

After days of travelling, Petrel was the first to hop off his Golbat and land on Route 22: "Careful now, we managed to get to Route 22, but security is very high in this area; y'know, with the Indigo Plateau access being right there and all."  
"Couldn't we just fly right to Viridian instead of landing there, then?" inquired Archer raising an eyebrow.  
"To be honest," added Ariana as she landed last: "I'm quite suprised we even managed to get all the way here without much of a problem. I thought Kanto would be more dutiful about security, unless they're oh so stupidly sure of their 'superiority'."  
"Well Ari, that's…"

Petrel couldn't finish the sentence, that snickering could be heard from all around them.  
In a matter of seconds, they were surrounded by people in black uniforms.

"Lookie lookie, what we have here! Then it was true some snobby Johto kids had the guts to come here!" said one of them.  
"They must be either very strong or very stupid!" laughed another.  
"Well then, why don't we test that here and now?" teased a taller one, taking out a Pokéball and slowly followed by the others.

Ariana and Archer recalled their weakened Murkrep and Golbap, taking out more Pokéballs of their own, as Petrel had a face threathening a panic attack.  
"They must be Kanto security…" whispered the redhead through gritted teeth.  
"Must have been watching us the entire time to give us hope only to ambush us at the end, the sadic bastards." replied Archer, his eyes not leaving the enemy.  
"Shall we fight then?"  
"We have no choiche."

* * *

 **A/N:** annnnd here it is a new chapter! And dang, they're still not into Team Rocket it seems. Petrel, Ariana and Archer, you're ruining the schedule I had for this fanfiction! Hurry getting in already!  
Well, guess the blame is also mine but well, don't really feel like writing loooong chapters right now. I started the job I had mentioned a couple days ago, and my university exams will end only on July 8th, so bleh.  
Hope you like this lil' chapter, and thanks a lot for taking your time to read or even to review! Reviews truly do mean a lot, as I'm still very insecure about my fics T/v/T (but what can you do about it, I'm an artist, not a writer, afterall...xD;)

Oh, and to anyone wondering; Archer and Ariana do really nickname their Pokémon ending in "ap" and "ep" respectively! It happens in Pokémon Stadium 2, where they have also extended parties (that's where I got Golbap from, as he's not in the HGSS party!) c:  
Come to think about it, I really miss that game...


	4. 3, 2, 1, launch!

For a moment, it was a flashing hell of red light.

At least 8-10 Pokémon were summoned on the black uniforms' side, mainly Rattata, Zubat and Koffing with maybe a Sandshrew in there.  
Ariana called out her Sneasel, Sneasep, while Archer studied the enemy for a second before calling out Tillerap, his Octillery.  
Petrel was nowhere to be seen, but judging by the occasional squealing heard he was probably hiding somewhere in fear.

"I think _your_ friend just ditched us after throwing us in a hellpit, my dear." remarked Ariana as she instructed Sneasep to start with Agility.  
"We'll deal with him later, now focus on the _real_ enemy." calmly replied Archer while witnessing one of the Rattata damaging Tillerap with a Quick Attack.  
"Your tentacle thing is hopeless here, there's not even water!" scolded the redhead: "She will move as fast as a Snorlax! And to think you should be the best of the school…"  
"Just watch."

While Sneasep was busy in an impressive dance of Agility and Ice Punch, knocking out most of her opponents (which was tiring, as the enemies apparently had more than a Pokémon each), Tillerap started sucking in apparentely the air, as everyone around started feeling a bit dehydrated.  
Then, at the snap of her master's fingers, the octopus Pokémon blasted out a Surf wave that nearly drowned the enemy's side, as Sneasep quickly jumped on her battle companion's head before being hit.  
"Psybeam." simply commanded Archer, and Tillerap took out the last few Pokémon with her psychic waves.

The men in black uniforms were astonished.

"See, darling? In a situation like this, with multiple opponents -and most of them are sharing a weakness-, a field damaging move and super-effectiveness are essential, I'd say."  
Ariana oh so hated it when Archer was right.

A slow clap could be heard from behind, as Petrel emerged laughing from behind a tree.  
Soon, also the a-second-before enemies joined the clap, a couple of them joining the laugh as well.  
The redhead was dumbfounded: "What...what the heck is happening, for Arceus' sake…?!"  
"Oh, nothing to worry about!" merrily said Petrel patting proudly the shoulders of his younger friends: "It just means you've passed the test!"

* * *

"SO IT WAS FUCKING YOU ALL ALONG?!"  
"Ariana, calm down!"

It took both Archer and Ariana's Arbok - _Arbep_ \- plus Gloomep's Sweet Scent to stop the raging redhead from murdering Petrel with her own hands; it was impressive how much strength such a short girl had.

While his girlfriend was safely held by Arbep's spires, Archer cleared his voice, looking straight at Petrel.  
"So, to recap; you're a member, no wait, an _admin_ of 'Team' Rocket, and one of your missions was to find new, preferably young, talents to recruit into your criminal team?"  
"Ooooh, c'mon, criminal is such a strong word! I'd rather say uncoventional….!"  
"Petrel, we- _ **I**_ trusted you! I thought we were friends!"  
"We _are_ friends! All this happened an year after I befriended you, I swear!"  
"And you'd give your friends to criminals just like that?!"  
"Hey, it was you who wanted to join anyways! Aren't you happy you're in and left such a good impression of your skills?"  
" _That's not the point_ …!"

"ENOUGH!"

Ariana's voice boomed with rage and exhaustation, making the two boys shut up immediately.  
"Well, that's better." she gracefully swept a bang back behind her ear, taking a deep breath: "Now listen, like the traitor-" "Hey!" "-said, we were going to do this anyways. Sure, we were expecting to work for Rocket Corp, not Team Rocket, but it doesn't really matter; we're still going to bring them down from the inside. We're already in, and in all honesty I do not wish to deal with the further troubles that our backing away may cause."  
Archer sighed but nodded: "I suppose you're right. Actually, according to Petrel, Rocket Corp. is just a cover-up for Team Rocket, so it's even better we're at the core of the thing. I'm just worried about the criminal activities this organization is in, and how that will influence us."  
"Don't worry, Arch!" chimed in Petrel, regaining some of his happy-go-lucky attitude: "I'm an admin here and it's not like I do horrible things! I mean, I was living normally, wasn't I?"  
"Spare your breath, traitor."  
"Ari, I wasn't talking to _you_."

The sound of an unknown voice clearing itself made them stop.  
A Team Rocket member was looking at them with a solemn air. "Admin Lambda, the Boss is waiting in his office to finalize the recruitment of the two new members."  
The purple-haired young man straightened himself, with a serious expression his friends never saw. "Right away."

The way to the boss' office was silent, the air thick of unspoken questions.  
Ariana and Archer were noticeably nervous, and Petrel did his best to hide his own emotions.  
Once in the office, 'massive' was the first thing the couple could think. It was a huge room, with lots of open space, big windows, a big desk, basically big everything. It looked as if made for some king rather than an organization's leader.  
The boss himself had his head low, apparentely intent to watch the video of the soon-to-be new members' test battle.  
Even though his face wasn't clearly visible, the great aura of power emanating from him was undeniable.

"Oh, you're here then." the boss started speaking, still focused on the video, his voice charming and intimidating at the same time: "Please do take a seat."  
Archer sheepishly looked at Petrel, who nudged him towards a chair, as Ariana was already marching towards a chair for herself, basically slamming her round butt on it, arms and legs crossed with an air of arrogance to go with it. Her friends mentally facepalmed.

It was then that the boss finally raised his gaze. He was a young man in his early 30's, not exactly handsome but still beautiful, with narrow, dark eyes, a strong jawline and an arrogant smirk plastered on his face. The sense of power coming from him was even stronger now, that even Ariana fidgeted for a moment.  
"Such a fiery attitude. Or foolish?" he simply commented, gesturing Archer to sit down as well, before he could start to talk.  
"Very well, Admin Lambda, if these two really have the talent shown in this video, then your promotion to the Admin rank was well-earned. I expect much of you in the future, as well."  
"T-thanks sir! I'll do my best, sir!"  
"Of course you'll do. Now leave, I'd like to talk to our new members in _private_."  
Petrel seemed hesitant, meeting the panicked gaze of his friends for a second, but had to obey.  
"...as you wish, sir."

The door closed loudly, leaving only silence after. It felt an eternity had passed when finally the Rocket leader broke the silence.  
"As I think you have now understood, you stand in the presence of Rocket Corp.'s -and Team Rocket's- leader; my name is Giovanni." he flashed a fake yet warm and charismatic smile, that made the fidgeting teenagers flutter for a moment.  
"I don't think I have understood which your names are, however."

Ariana got her arrogance momentarily back, as she puffed out her chest and flamboyantly passed a hand through her long red hair, making some locks flutter around her -and slap Archer's face- :"The name's Ariana, and I can assure you it's not one to be forgotten!"  
Giovanni smiled in amusement and shifted his gaze to the silent boy, who was trying to keep his best poker face on. "I'm Archer." he simply stated.

"Very well. Before finalizing everything, do you have an idea of what Team Rocket does? What it aims for? I wouldn't want ignorant people here, it'd lead to incompetence."  
Archer quickly replied before his girlfriend could say something stupid: "Yes sir, Petrel -the Admin Lamba, did tell us the basics. However, having some insight from the mind behind all this would definetely be more useful."

Giovanni let out a short laugh: "Hah, that Petrel, it's always the same thing; lying and circling around without going straight to the facts!  
Well then, I'll try to make it short. Rocket Corp. is a very powerful business, varying in activity from technology to Pokémon studies, to even politics. We would like for it to have a bigger influence, and to unify most people as possible under its power. Wouldn't it make things easier? No wars, same rules for everyone, same tools for everyone; Rocket Corp. would be in control to ensure everyone's satisfaction.  
This however, requires tons of money, people, power and let's be honest; also some 'underground' activity. And this is what Team Rocket's for, recruiting talents from all across the country and even beyond, as in your case.  
Of course, there's also to take into consideration the Pokémon factor. Nowadays everyone owns one, claiming it as friendship; hypocrites, I say. There's no such thing as human-Pokémon affection, they're merely beasts, and even the most loving Trainer still forces their 'friends' into battles until they collapse.  
If the Pokémon's choiche when taken by humans is none other than to battle, then it may be best to gain something from it at least."

The couple' eyes widened, expecting the obvious conclusion.

"Think about it, the Pokémon market is very wealthy, it's easier to command a horde of Pokémon than a group of people, and they undoubtedly have way more power - _intelligence aside_ \- than us humans. Strong ones are the perfect way to have powerful weapons in high numbers, and others can make you gain plenty of money if used in the _right ways_."

Ariana slightly writhed her nose at the words, her arrogant smirk momentarily replaced by displease, while Archer didn't react, doing his best to stay emotionless.  
"And now, that you have a better idea about our ways, the official question;" continued Giovanni, resting his face on his intertwined fingers as his expression was visibly amused: "are you, Ariana and Archer, joining Team Rocket and swearing your loyalty to it for as long as it will be required?"

The redhead turned around to look at her companion, but he didn't seem intention on looking back or giving away his thoughts and emotions.  
But she didn'y have to compromise this plan because of her damned impulsiveness; all she had just heard only fueled her desire to struck this organization down, _hard_.  
"Of course I do."  
"And I as well, sir."

Their new boss smirked, suddenly standing up-and towering them at almost 2 meters of height, making him even more imponent and intimidating, the setting sun casting its golden glow on him as if he was made of power itself.  
"Very, very well. You will be shown your rooms and be given your uniforms shortly. And I'm sure the Admin Lambda will enlighten you on how things work in more detail.  
However, you'll be starting out as regular grunts, so you will be given a standard grunt team for the time being; please hand your Pokémon team, along your PokéGear or similars, if any."

The two stood frozen in their place. Giving away their Pokémon? That was unthinkable!  
Seeing their lack of cooperation, Giovanni continued: "You accepted, this is how things work here. Please abide by rules. And in any case, seeing your talent, it won't be long before you're promoted and get everything back."  
At the last sentence, his gaze seemed to linger on Archer for longer, which Ariana didn't apparentely notice as she tried her best not to shout back through gritted teeth: "Well then, but may we at least know where they'll stay and how they'll be handled for the 'time being'?"  
"My young lady, your Pokémon will be safe and sound, rest assured; we definetely want them in their best shape to serve future missions. We have a building just for that, were we keep our grunts' Pokémon, think it of it as a sort of Daycare centre. You will be able to visit them anytime when not training or in mission."  
That seemed to slightly calm the couple, even if it took them still quite long to grudgingly hand over their Pokéballs.

"They're a Gloom, Arbok, Murkrow and Sneasel. All females, and definetely in need of the best treatment possible." hissed Ariana, carefully placing her team, along with her PokéGear, on the table. Archer followed shortly after, handing his own PokéGear and his Houndoom, Larvitar, Octillery, Wobbuffet and Parasect.  
Giovanni finally smiled in satisfaction. "Excellent. Rockets, you're good to go."  
"...Yes, sir."

Hearing steps approaching, Petrel quickly retrieved from his eavesdropping position behind the office's door, mentally steeling himself to what was going to be a long, shout-filled evening.

* * *

 **A/N:** Wellll, I was very nervous about this chapter because it had our two young lovebirds entering a criminal organization, and I absolutely never read or watched anything about it, and it also introduced Giovanni, who is a character I'm 90% sure I can't write well x,D (speaking of which, I imagine in his younger years to be more "gentle" in hiw ways just to lure new recruits in, since he just took on TR, he wanted their sympathy because it would also bring easier loyalty. Inside he's still our badass mafia boss xD)  
Hope this is still an acceptable chapter, if you have any suggestions I'm always open to them of course!  
Thanks for your support!


	5. Prepare for Trouble

Hello guys! While I was on vacation I managed to write another little chapter of this silly fanfic of mine, hope you'll enjoy it! ^^ I think this is the first multi-chapter fanfic I'm seriously taking on (Gladiolus I expected to be a flop/discontinued) and let me tell you, I'm a newbie at this so the more chapters I write, the more it's difficult to make things believable, I'm always afraid to write idiotic things...so yeah, constructive critique is always welcome!  
Right now the story it's the take its less-happy period (things will pick up and be fluffy and happy -somewhat- after Silver's birth), but if you have any ideas/requests for later, even just for silly fillers, do let me know and I'll gladly consider them!  
I'll leave you to the story now, R&R is very much appreciated u/u

* * *

"...Let me tell you, if the boss gets to know this, you're going to be in some _serious trouble_ , my young lady."  
"Fuck off Petrel! It's not my fault the fuckin' family Glameow decided to follow me in this fuckin' place ok?!"  
"How come you didn't notice their Pokéball in your bag 'til now?! And you may want to tone down your voice -and _f-bombs_ \- a bit…"

Archer, looking at Ariana and Petrel argue from a corner of the room, stepped in to pat his friend's shoulder: "She'll eventually calm down, no worries; she's just upset that she already broke a rule within 20 minutes of being a Rocket member, and that she has to wear such a revealing uniform."  
"What about the uniform? It's not really revealing, she's got even her hands and neck covered!" replied Petrel scratching the back of his head, giving a good look at Ariana in her uniform as if trying to spot the problem...until the redhead's hand collided with his cheek, _hard_.

"You're a fucking pervert, that's what you are! Of course you see nothing wrong! What about the fucking miniskirt, my undies can probably be seen at every step I take! And thigh-highs? A pervert of your kind should know what a popular turn-on, fetish, or whatever, that is!"  
"Well, I assure you our boss is not a pervert, they were like this ever since the former boss was in charge from what I've heard, and it was a _woman_!"

Glamiss, the spoiled pet Glameow of Ariana's family, pridefully strut towards the young woman's legs, gently purring and nuzzling against them, as if to bring the discussion's topic back towards her.  
"Yeah yeah, still gotta deal with you, lil' fucker, I know!" angrily dismissed her owner, picking the feline up: "So just stay fuckin' still and quiet until I figure something out, got it?"  
Glamiss gently purred in response, batting her eyelashes. Ariana just sighed and put her down, collapsing onto what was her bed now.  
"At this rate I'll get crazy, guys..."  
"Why, weren't you already?" snickered Petrel, getting a nasty glare back.

Archer ignored the friend's remark and sat down next to his girlfriend, gently rubbing her shoulder: "Well, I'm sorry, but for now you've gotta deal with that by yourself; it's time for Petrel and me to go, if they catch us in one of the ladies' common rooms afterhours we're gonna get in some big trouble."  
"Yeah, even bigger than your ass, Ari" added in Petrel, getting only a pillow thrown at his face in response.  
"Just...fuck you. I don't even wanna deal with you anymore...And - _wait_ -" Ariana jolted up to sit on the bed, realization suddenly hitting her: "dear Arceus, that's right, this IS a common room, for fuck's sake! I'll have to sleep with some nasty Rocket gals in my room, eww!"  
"Well, technically it isn't _your_ room…" commented Petrel.  
"Shut the fuck up, it hardly matters!"  
"Alright alright, I think enough fucks were given for today! Goin' to my room, g'night you two!"  
" ' _G'night'_? It's your fucking fault we're in this situation and that's all you've got to say before leaving us with criminals?! I HATE YOOUUUUU-"

Archer silently pushed a pillow on his girlfriend's face, as if to smother her screams, and gestured Petrel to just go, which he gladly did. The young man then turned to the muffled redhead, and removed the pillow, gently kissing her forehead before she could protest.  
"Endure this for now. Consider it one more motivation to get that admin promotion, and quickly." he whispered, caressing one of her red cheeks: "And when I say quickly, I mean before I get it myself, you don't wanna let me be the best _again_ , do you?"  
Ariana puffed her cheeks, her lips pursed in a sort of pout that Archer could only find amusing.  
"You _idiot_."  
"I love you too."

The next morning, Ariana awakened into chaos; while she was getting ready for her first day as a Rocket grunt in a room full of lady strangers hurrily dressing up, she noticed Glamiss was missing. _Not that she actually cared for her_ , but the little bitch had a hella expensive collar that was no difficult to track back to her, and she didn't need to get in trouble on her first day.  
She hastily finished dressing up, and grabbed the two Pokéballs that contained her temporary team - a Rattata and an Ekans- before running down the maze-like hallways of the Rocket HQ in search of purple feline.  
The redhead suddenly stopped as she heard a familiar purr...right in front of the _boss' office_.

The door was ajar, and she asked no permission to enter as she ran into the office and quickly grabbed the Glameow, who was purring and nuzzling against the boss' Persian.  
Giovanni raised a brow, staring at Ariana, his face going dark: "Look if it isn't the new grunt...so this Glameow is yours? I thought I had been clear enough about giving away _all_ your Pokémon team members…"  
Panick started to set in, as Giovanni's figure shifted from giving a sense of power to a sense of danger, but Ariana was quick to reply, as arrogantly as ever. "That I did, sir. This Pokémon is not part of my team, but merely a family-inherited pet that has never seen the light of battle."

The man stared at her for what felt like an eternity, Ariana not letting her prideful composure down, and suddenly his face lightened up, a smirk on his lips as usual.  
"...I see. My apologies, then! And anyways," he gestured at his Persian, who was still trying to sniff the female feline: "it seems my Persian is growing quite fond of that Glameow, and who Persian likes, I like as well. Please do bring her again some other time."

The girl was dumbfounded, but did her best not to show it: "A-as you wish, sir. Now, my training awaits me…"  
And with that, she quickly scurried away, Glamiss proudly following with her trademark strut, not without leaving one last glance at the Persian behind.

"You're late." simply commented Archer as Ariana finally entered the training room.  
"I know." she hastily cut off.  
"You should be thankful that it's Petrel supervising us, or you'd be in trouble."

"Ah-ehm!" the purple-haired guy in question cleared his throath as to catch everyone's attention: "As I _was_ saying, newbies -aka new members, here since less than 3 weeks- should focus on getting to know how to use your new Pokémon at best. Pokémon are the main tools in our plans, so you'd better familiarize with them and use them in the best ways. Those who don't, will follow some solo tests as to understand if failure is the _tool_ 's fault or the user's.  
So for now, split in pairs and battle each other, I will just be observing!"

Archer walked away looking for a random grunt, shooting a smug-smiled glance at his favorite redhead that could only say " _We better not work in pair, or you'll make a very poor figure babe"_.

* * *

It had been some months since Archer and Ariana joined the ranks of Team Rocket, back in summer.  
Winter came and went, and with it the war between Kanto and Johto finally went as well.  
Johto suddenly put up a powerful uprising -also thanks to the very young dragon master Claire stepping in, and Kanto's own dragon master lacking the heart to attack his clan's lands-, stopping Kanto's army before they could actually set foot in New Bark town.

Seeing as the war was going for too many years without significant progress, too many lives and money were lost already, and -mainly because- the Legendary Pokémon (namely Ho-Oh, not tolerating the deaths on its lands) were threathening to step in, the two countries came to an armistice; Mt. Silver was still property of Johto, but all the land around it was now Kanto's, and the newly named Tohjo Falls were decided as confining spot between the regions (even though the whole Route 27 was Kanto's, and even just playing in New Bark town's waters was considered as trespassing).  
The League was also still property of Kanto, so in the end it was Kanto itself to have gotten the most out of the war.

And even though it was over, many people who worked for Team Rocket weren't able to forget the horrors of war they were forced to witness during missions.  
Archer could feel it in the air, as he sternly walked down the halls of the HQ; all of those members directly involved with war, now with too much free time on their hands that they spent thinking. _Remembering_.

However, it was none of his business, and he simply walked by, focused on getting his report on the latest mission in. He was an Elite grunt now, and was well determined to rank up even more, as quickly as possible.

"Archer!"

The young man didn't even have to look back to see who was calling him; there was only one person with enough guts to publicly call him by his name-or hug and kiss him, despite the "no romantic relationships" rule Team Rocket held.

"Archer, you're here then!" beamed Ariana, her expression a mixture of joy, worry and anger: "I've been looking for you for the past whole week like crazy, Petrel told me you were on mission! Why didn't you tell me?! I was worried sick!"  
"Ariana."  
"We even missed your birthday, goodness, we really have to catch up on that! Did you get injured on mission? And-"  
"ARIANA."  
As Archer raised his stern voice, the redhead immediately shut up. It seemed that since he became an Elite the once rare occurance became more frequent, even with people close to him.

Archer sighed, but immediately got back to his stoic composure: "I've told you so many times to call me by my Elite codename, and you seem to fail every time. As well as displaying public affection, we'll get in very serious trouble if you keep that up. Please revise your behaviour."  
"Don't talk to me like a mere grunt! I'm your fucking _girlfriend_ , is that all you've got to tell me after more than a week you've disappeared?!"  
A tinge of guilt veiled the Elite's face.  
"...I'm very sorry, but I'm kind of busy now. The Boss is waiting for my report on the mission."

And he walked away, as quickly as a walk could allow, as if trying to leave his guilt back with her.  
"Very well, _Elite grunt Apollo_ ," she shouted back: "abide your duties, don't waste time with me! Once I'll be promoted Elite myself I'll have plenty of time to beat your sorry ass!"

He was sorry, so very sorry, part of him wanted to run back and hold her, and reassure her he loved her more than anyone, more than anything; but what Ariana seemed to lack to understand -or to remember- was that Team Rocket had rules, and they needed to stay by them if they wanted to be safe.

That, and power kind of started to feel pretty great.


	6. And Make it Double

It was a beautiful day in late April, with cherry blossoms in full bloom and Hanami and Yozakura activities still ongoing. Even the atmosphere in Team Rocket's HQ seemed lighter than usual, with some grunts (mainly the ones not residing in the HQ) organizing picnics or karaoke nights under the blooming trees in their free time. Sometimes, Ariana found herself doubting this was a serious criminal organization afterall.

But experience told her elseway. She ranked up to an Elite Grunt as well, and had come to see some more serious activities Team Rocket ran. It was almost an year since she was in this situation, and she hardly could believe a mere 12 months ago she was gazing at cherry trees in bloom, but from a school desk, thinking about future in an almost childish way.

And now, she found herself to have forcedly matured up considerably, to keep up with bearing her current life as -let's face it, no matter what Petrel or the Boss could say- a _criminal_. And even a promising one at that.

However, Archer seemed to always be one unnerving step above.

He had been promoted to Admin and got back Houndap and most of his Pokémon, and to add to his increased responsibilities and activities, he was also attending university, Law faculty; it was the one he wanted to attend even during high school days, and Giovanni was actually happy to send him, saying something along the lines of needing to have a deep knowledge of law to masterfully go around it.

To Ariana, however, it only meant she had barely time to spend with her beloved one. And that the changes she had seen happening in herself, she could see them even clearlier in Archer too.  
She was positive though, that the upcoming weekend they'd had some quality time together.

It would have been her birthday, afterall.

* * *

Petrel actually turned out to be a good company, albeit Ariana's skepticism. Despite being an Admin, Petrel seemed to have always too much free time, so he was often seen hanging around with other members, socializing or doing other social activities. He apparentely was quite popular among the ladies, too.  
So it was no surprise when it was him to invite the redhead to a Yozakura group outing, and in Celadon's popular park nonetheless...to which the young woman gladly accepted, missing quite a lot the social activities she was used to as a teen.

Celadon truly was a beauty during this period, as Kanto's "flower capital", despite the war being over only as of recently you could tell preparations had still gone all out and people did their best to just have fun and move forward. The darkness of the night couldn't hide the beauty of the place as well, with all the beautiful decorations and atmospheric lights shining on the delicate pale pink sea of trees.  
 _Not that it could compare to Johto's traditional festivals_ thought Ariana, but quite the sight nonetheless.  
Her initial worries about being recognized as a criminal faded away as well; apparentely their faces weren't well known, and there were just so many people anyways, than no one paid attention to them.

She was really starting to get into the fun, despite dearly missing Archer and her Pokemon, mostly Gloomep (and that was Gloomep's favorite festival too) : everyone had brought something to eat -and handmade meals were something she hadn't realized to miss until then-, Petrel brought along tons of drinks -some of which rather questionable- and he was also apparentely pretty good at jokes and a fun person to be with in general, and all the Rockets mashed their laughs and feels together in one huge karaoke session. They all came to know each other better, forged new friendships, and Ariana felt all her worries just washed away and simply allowed herself to have fun.

However, it was only when they decided to give a shot to the colorful traditional stands that she saw _him_.

Initially, Ariana didn't think much of him; it only looked like a regular kid, even if the combination of casual clothes -instead of traditional festival ones-, strange mask gotten at some stand and the fact he was seemingly alone despite his age gave all around a creepy vibe about him. It was when she noticed that the kid was actually _staring at her_ from behind the blank expression of his mask that she started getting unnerved.

"You're really good at shooting, pretty lady!"  
Ariana gasped a bit at the sudden voice right next to her, and relaxed seeing as it was just the creepy kid.  
"Oh well, thank you."  
"Do you shoot often to be so good at it?"  
The redhead was taken a bit aback by the sudden question, dropping the fake gun she was using to take down the targets of a prize stand, and it wasn't like she could reply ' _Oh yes, I'm actually the member of an important criminal organization, so that's like my daily bread!'  
_ "N-not at all," she muttered in what she hoped sounded like indignation, surprise and innocence: "I've been probably just lucky, that's all!"  
The kid chuckled, and got a bit closer: "Then you're just like me, everyone says I'm so lucky at games of chanche!"

She was going to reply something, but the kid suddenly grabbed her hand, excitingly trying to have her follow: "If you're alone, will you please show me around? No one could come with me and I'm afraid I may get lost _or kidnapped_ if I explore by my own, but I really want to see this festival!"  
Ariana felt her instincts yelling to turn away and never see him again, but the kid removed his mask to show one of the most prettiest liitle faces and saddest puppy eyes she ever saw, so laughing at herself for being unnerved by a kid, 10 years old at most, she smiled and led the way.

The first thing she thought of the kid, it's that he was a cunning one. In a matter of ten minutes he managed to understand all by his own that she liked flowers and grass-type Pokemon, she was having love issues, and didn't like talking about family, to which he replied he didn't like family as well with a heart wrenching story on how his mother abandoned them when he was very little, his father never cared much, and his older sister died in an accident -implying that he really liked Ariana as a sort of female figure he never had.

However, the kid -his name was Milas- seemed to fake interest in Ariana and to be actually a bit bored, if not even irked, until the young woman brought up that she actually didn't favor grass-types, but poison-types and poisons themselves; flowers and herbs were interesting to her for both their apparent beauty but inner danger if used the right ways, something she aspired to be as a strong, independent woman as well.

She didn't really know why that let out her lips, it was definetely not something to tell strangers, especially kids, but a part of her desperately wanted to catch Milas' interest fearing that boredom and anger rising for apparent no reason behind his perfect, fake smile, and there was something malicious in his eyes that she felt like he would actually appreciate such info; suspect confirmed by how his eyes shined with interest at her words.

"I really like poisons-I mean, poison-types too! I like the way you think, Onee-chan!" he said with a genuine smile this time: "My partner was a Grimer I got here, you know?"  
" _Was_?" asked Ariana.  
"Uh, yes, he has d-ran away and I don't know why. But maybe it's better, my dad never liked him and never allowed me to feed him properly, poor Grimer…" the kid concluded in a dramatic and saddened tone, with a little tear shining from his eye.

In that moment, Petrel popped out from behind them: "Oooh, Ari! So there you were!"  
Milas looked for a moment at Petrel, then at Ariana, and smiled: "That makes me think, I really need to go in our special spot and pray for Grimer, I really hope he's alright! See you later, Onee-chan!"  
"W-wait, don't you want me to accompany you?! Like you said it can be dangerous for a kid alone!" shouted the redhead at him, but Milas ran away so fast that he was already gone in the crowd.

Ariana sighed: "It's incredible Petrel, you manage to scare away even kids!"  
But Petrel wasn't going to joke back as usual, his eyes fixated on the way Milas went, and then slowly turning back to his friend: "You shouldn't walk off like that all by yourself, it could be dangerous." he said, gesturing towards behind her: "Now come, the others were looking for you."

The young woman only shuddered as she looked back, facing a dark alley, so caught by her talk with the kid to not even notice where she was going.

The rest of the night went on pretty normally, most of the group was drunk by now, and they were going to pack up and go back to the HQ, when Ariana, as she wandered a moment off to wash her face in a fountain, felt her kimono tugged by a familiar hand: Milas was back, in a kimono as well this time, seemingly too big so that it hid his hands, and his face hidden as well by that creepy mask again.

"Milas, you should really stop doing that, you will scare someone!"  
"But I wanted to show Onee-chan something special before you go home!" he replied giggling, and tugging again so that she would follow.  
Ariana rolled her eyes and followed suit, until they reached a cherry tree isolated from the crowdy festival. The decorations were minimal in that part of the town, and the darkness illuminated only by fireflies and occasional street lamps made the atmosphere eerily quiet.

"I heard you with your friends, you said the cherry trees here aren't as pretty as your hometown, right?" the kid said, still with his mask on.  
"Well yes, but I guess I'm a bit biased; the trees here are very pretty as well!"  
"Don't worry Onee-chan, I too thought this year they're lacking their beautiful cherry color, they're so pale! So I made a gift for you!"

He gestured to the solitary tree, but it looked like any other ordinary cherry tree. Seeing as Ariana looked unfazed and even a bit confused, Milas patted a bit the earth near the tree's roots: "I gave the tree some nutrients, so that next year it will have a beautiful, intense color! This will be our pretty special place!"

Only then Ariana noticed that where Milas had grabbed her, her kimono was blood red.

* * *

"Well, I think some of you know him already," said Petrel the next morning glancing at Ariana, while he was announcing a couple new grunts: "but this is the newest member of our organization, I ask you not to underestimate him because of his young age; please welcome Proton!"

A proudly smiling Milas -or Proton, as Petrel called him- presented himself in his brand new Rocket uniform, and running happily to Ariana after the meeting was over.  
"Onee-chan, onee-chan! Now we're together, aren't you proud of me?"

The redhead was seriously confused, and could barely speak a word, so Petrel patted her shoulder and offered to explain: "I know this little rascal from my…'underground' activities, he may look so innocent but he started manipulating people at the age of 6, and killing even earlier. Small Pokémon first, then went on his own family and the neighborhood, geez! I think he killed some random people too, but after what he's done yesterday night the police would have definetely caught him, so we took him in. It would be a waste of potential, some here think." he concluded shrugging.

"Oh, yes!" continued Proton, hugging Ariana's hips: "I'm really sorry to have considered you first Onee-chan, but I never saw you around so you probably weren't known and you were all alone….and you kept looking angrily yet sad at families at the festivals, but handed your prizes or cottoncandy at the kids ignored by their parents, so I knew you must have had some family issues, and you would have definetely wanted to protect a _little poor boy traumatized by family_ like me, ain't I right?  
And you apparentely liking grass-types was the icing on the cake, they fall so easily under poison-types! But then I realized you were a fucked up one too, maybe like me, and you even knew Petrel so that meant you probably were a Rocket too and then I decided you would have been my dear Onee-chan forever!"

Ariana didn't speak a word, and turned her head to the news some grunts were watching on tv, talking about the Celadon Gym Leader gone missing.  
But the Gym Leader wasn't missing, she knew that too well. She was in their special place.

What scared her the most, was that it could have been herself right there, coloring the cherry tree with her blood as red as her hair.

* * *

The morning of her birthday, Ariana found her favorite flower on her nightstand, along with a beautiful dress in a birthday package and the Pokeball containing Gloomep.

Smiling from ear to ear, she basically rammed into Archer's office and bear-hugged him, almost knocking him off his desk: "Thanks a lot my love, you thinking about me and sending me those gifts for my birthday made me feel so happy! I'm sorry if I've been snappy with you, but I just feel a bit ignored….I do love you so much, and I'm sure we'll have our sweet time together today!"

Archer hugged her back and stayed silent at first, but his expression was of pure confusion: "What are you talking about Ari…? This is the first time I see you today, and I still need to give you your gift...and yes, happy birthday by the way, you know I love you too."  
This time it was Ariana's time to be perplexed: "What? B-but it must be you, who else could have sent me those gifts, since they would have needed to enter my room…?"

In the Boss' office, Petrel was smoking a cigarette while disapprovingly looking at Giovanni.  
"You do know she's way younger than you, and already taken as well?" said the younger man.  
"I know, I know. And it only makes it all the more entertaining to play with." replied the boss, burning the photo of a woman -one of the many- and fixing his eyes to the one of the Elite Grunt Ariana.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry for the time gap between updates everyone! As said many times, writing is just a side hobby of mine and I must prioritize other things like my job as an artist, so time (and inspiration!) to write is never enough x.x  
I already had in mind Hanami+Ariana's birthday for the prompt of this chapter, but it seemed like it would have been too short and uninteresting, so I thought it was about time to introduce little Proton! To clear things up, Milas is his italian name, and in my headcanon it's his real name but he hates it (too girly he says xD) so replaced it with his Rocket name, Proton.  
Since the "trouble" of the previous chapter was Ariana's relationship with Archer starting to go downhill and this one introduced the trouble of Giovanni taking interest in her, I thought using the Rocket quote for chapters was fitting xD  
Also the cherry tree thing is based on a Japanese rumor, according to which if you bury a fresh corpse under a cherry tree its blood will feed the tree making the flowers' color more intense.

As usual, English is not my language so feel free to point out errors, and any suggestion for this is greatly appreciated, even if you have some silly request I may use it for a fun filler chapter! Thanks a lot for reading!


	7. You call it Rise, I call it Fall

_**A/N:** New chapter is up, woooo! ...even if it's short and done after a lifetime, I know TvT;_  
 _To be honest, I really want to write this part of the story off as quickly as I can, I'm really not good at dealing with drama...so chapters will be shorter than usual! Also yes, Ariana blows off and overreacts a lot, so be prepared for tons of not-so-pretty reactions fom her xD; Ari, will you please calm down? It's not so lady-like of you! /pats_  
 _Hope you will enjoy this ^^_

 _And a little shoutout to **Yugoslavia** whom I recently met, he's a great writer and an all around sweetheart so you should totally check him out! He writes Pokémon fanfics (and villains! Especially Mars for the Galactic lovers ;3) as well and his style is much better than mine so I think you'll enjoy his works ^^_

 _'til next chapter guys! x3_

* * *

Archer didn't like it all.

He didn't like some of the duties of his job. He didn't like ignoring Ariana. He didn't like how his boss looked at her, or that he had invited her for dinner to discuss a possible promotion.

But most of all, he didn't like how he was doing nothing against all of it.

When had things became like that? He could barely remember why he and Ariana joined Team Rocket, and it'd been just more than an year ago. Did he enjoy being the bad guy? If he was asked just an year before, he'd surely reply no. Nowadays, he'd reply he wasn't that much of a bad guy afterall; the people he had to ruin or eliminate were all scum to begin with, and Team Rocket's experiments would benefit development in Pokémon and humans alike.

He himself was becoming the quite powerful figure, and he had to admit walking around with people bowing their heads to him in respect, or handling important decisions, made him feel good. He did deserve the respect afterall, didn't he?

And yet, he couldn't help but loathe the entire situation.

"Well, if I do get the promotion, at least that means more time together, isn't it?" said Ariana interrupting his thoughts: "I mean, we would work together more often, live in the same area of the HQ and maybe we could even choose to share the room!"  
"You know relationships are not allowed, the... _boss_ would never let us share a room." was his flat reply.  
"Hmpf, always nit-picking! Then I'd sneak in your room when I want!" she pouted crossing her arms.  
"I wouldn't count too much on being promoted."

Ariana let go of her playful pout and narrowed her eyes instead: "What do you mean by _that_?"  
Archer scowled and looked away, visibly irritated: "Well, it's not like the boss invites everyone for dinner to discuss about promotions! Come on, Ariana, you're not dumb, you know what he _really_ wants!"

The redhead blinked a few times, her arms going from neatly folded to gripping her fists on her sides, as incredulity and rage started hardening her soft features:" What….what in the world are you trying to imply?! That I'm not as good as you, that without _such means_ I wouldn't get promoted? And even worse, that, if the boss meant that, _I would let him have his ways on ME?!_ " her voice cracked and started being more a yell, her body almost trembling by the sheer anger that she tried to contain in her small body.

But she failed on that, and her anger erupted on Archer's cheek, leaving a burning red hand imprint on it.

He didn't have any reaction, simply following the slap's motion and leaving his head slightly tilted to the side, eyes still not looking at her. "That's not what I said."  
Ariana seemed to calm a moment, but then just quickly power-walked away before she could blow off again. Arguing with her boyfriend was definetely the last thing she needed, and she now needed to be prepared and steel herself in the case the boss' intentions turned out to be what Archer said to be.

She didn't want him to see her crying, either.

"It's everything alright, big sis? If you tell me who made you cry I'll make sure they won't be able to ever do it again!" Proton asked all of a sudden with a dangerous glint in his eyes, sympathetically laying a hand on Ariana's shoulder. He seemed to have this magical power to appear all of a sudden, making the young woman almost jump in surprise.

"No, no, Mil... _Proton_ , everything's fine." she quietly replied, sniffing as she dried her tears quickly on her sleeve. She momentarily paused, pondering on why she even started crying in the first place, and mentally calling herself an overrareacting idiot :"I'm just tired and kinda nervous, that's all."

Proton smiled cutely at her, widening his big, innocent-looking eyes -as he started cleaning up a dagger :"Wanna come with me and have some fun together? I promise my hobby will make you discharge tooons of stress!"  
"Huuuuh...I think I'll pass, honey."

It was the night before the promotion talk with the boss. The night Archer wished with all himself Ariana wouldn't be nor being taken advantage of, nor promoted to the rank of Admin, even if through standard procedure.

Because that'd mean she'd start having the same nightmares as him, of void, accusing, _dead_ eyes.

* * *

Despite it being a private dinner in a fancy restaurant, a business talk was a business talk, she didn't have to look pretty. Not for _him_ at least.

So Ariana avoided the temptation to put on one of her beautiful dresses she oh so loved (and definetely didn't wear since a good while) and opted for a simple and formal business suit... she kinda liked the look of male suits on her anyways, the tie gave her quite the cool and classy look (according to herself at least).

Nervously, she did her best to proudly strut towards the TR car waiting for her, determined to prove to Archer -and admittedly, to a part of herself- that Giovanni didn't have any ill intentions and she had simply _earned_ herself a promotion.

And, as the evening went on, Giovanni was being nothing more than a gentleman boss, which made Ariana feel super guilty about. She mentally blamed all her false suspects on Archer and his stupid words. She was actually feeling good with Giovanni, he was formal and polite but still warm and charming, and it made her feel a bit more at ease.

"It's good to see that you are finally feeling better in Team Rocket," started the boss :"I guess then giving you back your team lead was a successful idea. Were you this determined since the beginning, I would have probably considered the promotion before. Maybe even before Archer's."

The redhead's eyes glinted in interest and pride when he mentioned the possibility of her being promoted before than her long time rival, but blinked in confusion when re-analyzing the boss' words. "I'm sorry sir, I don't think I have clearly understood...are you implying you were the one to have given me back my Gloom on my birthday?"  
"Yes, of course, my lady. Who else could have had permission to do so? I saw potential in you, and wanted to bring that out; I'm glad reuniting you with your Pokémon was proven successful, even if it doesn't conform to Team Rocket's usual morals. But, it is the Rocket's way to value the result more than the means afterall."

Ariana bit her lip, stiffening her body in thought :"Then also-?"

Giovanni caught on and finished for her with a reassuring, non-malicious smile :"The dress? Yes. But worry not, even though I can imagine you'd look lovely in it, it was a gift for your enjoyment, not _mine_ , my young lady."

The redhead slightly blushed at the implication, suddenly feeling more nervous than reassured despite his words, and simply nodded while quickly muttering her gratefulness. The dinner went on seemingly normal, and despite her boss being his usual self and not "trying anything", she couldn't help but feeling uneasy after knowing it was him behind those gifts. It wasn't like the Rocket boss made birthday gifts to a team member often, was it?

The rest was a blur.

Ariana ended up barely noticing to be closing the door of her -new- bedroom behind her. It felt as that dinner lasted a lifetime, yet now that it was over she could barely recall bits and pieces of the conversation. She felt agitated, even though she kept repeating herself there was no reason to, and finally raised her head to glance at what was her new, _private_ room, a privilege of admins and executives only. Actually, newer admins usually had to still share the room with another person, but apparentely Ariana had skipped that, since she was personally promoted by Giovanni himself.

The redhead tried to not think of what Archer had told her about the promotion - _it's all thanks to your hard work and talent, he's just competitive and played low, you know_ \- and quietly walked towards what was now her new bed, only to examine the bedstand by its side.

As Giovanni had promised while driving her back to the HQ as yet another perk of her new promotion - _it's all thanks to your hard work and talent, he's just competitive and played low, you **know**_ -, there it was, her full Pokemon team and some of the items she had brought with her which had been confiscated upon joining Team Rocket.

Ariana let out everyone out of their balls, the multiple red lights temporarily blinding the whole room, eager to reunite with her partners. Arbep was the first to snap out of the surprised daze the Pokemon were in, affectionately coiling around her trainer while gently hissing. Murkrep followed soon, chirping "Missed you!" over and over and flying around Ariana's head, finally landing on her shoulder. Sneasep was seemingly holding back, as if accusing Ariana for their temporarily "abandonment", but discreetely nuzzled up against her leg after a while (and after some failed cooing and bribing from Ariana).

"I missed you too, my ladies," said the redhead, voice softer than usual: "and my apologies if right now I'm not in the mood to party, but it's been a long day...tomorrow I promise we'll catch up and I'll also introduce you to the new team mates!"

Sneasep visibly snorted at that, while Murkrep cocked her head in curiosity and Arbep couldn't care less. Ariana's gaze shifted from the smiling Gloomep, who was greeting her old companions, to her nighstand, were her old tools were still resting.

Hesitantly, she took a Leaf Stone from the small pile of items, the only remnant of her mother's luxurious gemstone company she still clung to, face turned somber and lost in thoughts. After a while, she finally glanced back to Gloomep, and her lips curled to a genuine smile.

"Yes, I think we deserve some sort of celebration before calling it a night."


End file.
